Travis Pastrana

Travis Alan Pastrana

Travis at a public appearance before racing his open class '09 Subaru WRX STI at the 2009 Lake Superior Performance Rally
Personal information
Full name	Travis Alan Pastrana
Nationality	American
Born	October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08) Annapolis, Maryland
Sport
Sport	Rally, Motocross, Supercross, Freestyle Motocross, Base Jumping, NASCAR, monster truck freestyle
Event(s)	X Games, Red Bull X-Fighters, Dew Tour, Rally America

Travis Alan Pastrana (born October 8, 1983) is an American motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some of his friends. For 2011, Pastrana has partnered with NASCAR team owner Michael Waltrip to form Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. He planned to drive the #99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for 7 races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, but after an accident, his Nationwide Series debut was delayed until 2012.

Early life

He was born on October 8, 1983 at 12:20 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland to parents Robert and Debby Pastrana. His uncle, Alan, played as a quarterback from 1965 to 1968 at the University of Maryland, which Travis Pastrana also attended. On June 11, 2003, 19-year old Pastrana was seriously injured when he crashed his Corvette into a tree in Davidsonville, Maryland.

Motocross/Supercross

Pastrana has won two motocross racing championships: the 2000 A.M.A. 125cc National championship, the 2001 125cc East Coast Supercross Championship, and the 125cc Rose Creek Invitational. Pastrana also raced in the 2000 Motocross des Nations. He moved up to the 250cc class in 2002. His stand-up style, ability to spot jump combinations and great speed through the whoops make him easy to spot on the track. Although Pastrana has never won a 250cc race, his kindness to the fans and love of the sport still makes him one of the most popular riders of all time. Pastrana has always raced and competed on Suzuki motorcycles, and remains fiercely loyal to the brand. He races with Team Cernic's Suzuki. All of his motorcycles and rally cars carry the number 199. He even sponsors a Monster Jam truck called Pastrana 199, and Nitro Circus after the TV show on MTV.

Team Puerto Rico

Robert Pastrana, Travis' father, is a native Puerto Rican, which made Travis directly eligible to represent Puerto Rico in international competition. On February 27, 2008, the Asociación de Motociclismo de Puerto Rico (Motorcycling Association of Puerto Rico) provided him with a license to represent the island, which was accepted by the Unión LatinoAmericana de Motociclismo, the relevant sanctioning body in Latin America. His debut with the team took place on March 15, 2008. Here he qualified to the finals by defeating Erick Vallejo of Mexico. In the finals he finished third, behind local Costa Rican racer Roberto Castro and Vallejo.

X Games

• 1999 – Pastrana wins the first ever MotoX Freestyle event at the X-Games. He also scores the highest ever run of 99.00 points.

• 2000 – Pastrana wins the gold medal for the second time, and attempts the first ever backflip on a motorcycle.

• 2001 – Pastrana wins his third gold, still the only person to win the event.

• 2003 – Pastrana claims his fourth gold and becomes the second rider ever to complete a 360 in competition.

• 2004 – Pastrana crashes while trying a 50 ft (15m) 360, sustaining a concussion, but is able to compete the next day and wins a silver medal. Nate Adams becomes the only rider to beat Pastrana at that time. Before this event, he had won Bronze in Best Trick, performing a One-Handed 360 and a Superman Seat Grab-Indian Air Back flip.

• 2005 – Pastrana wins his fifth gold in Freestyle and also attempts the first ever Backflip Barspin on a motorcycle, however the bike fails and he resorts to a regular bike and performs a Backflip Saran Wrap to take Silver in Best Trick.

• 2006 – Pastrana becomes the third athlete to win three Gold medals at a single X Games Event. He wins Gold in MotoX Best Trick, MotoX Freestyle, and Rally Car Racing. Pastrana also performs the first Double Backflip in competition, scoring a 98.60, the highest score in the Best Trick competition at X Games.

• 2007 – Pastrana takes bronze in Rally after sliding into the other drivers area while inside the Home Depot Center. He is disqualified but retains his medal. He also competes in the first MotoX Racing event at X Games, but does not achieve a medal after two false starts in the heat race and last chance qualifier.

• 2008 – Pastrana takes gold in Rally and competes in the Speed & Style event but does not place.

• 2009 – Pastrana attempts a rodeo 720 at X Games 15 in the Moto X Best Trick Event. He crashes on his first attempt and withdraws from his second after experiencing blurred vision. He places 4th for his efforts. He takes silver in Rally after being defeated by rookie and former Indy Car/Indy 500 champion Kenny Bräck. On November 8, Pastrana landed the famous Rodeo 720, and filmed it in his newest movie, Nitro Circus – Country Fried. Once he landed the trick, he named it the TP7, due to the fact that he was 20 degrees short of 720.

• 2010 – Pastrana wins Moto X Freestyle, landing yet another Double Backflip, the first one done at an X Games Freestyle. Travis also wins Moto X Speed & Style, beating silver medalist Nate Adams by a landslide. Travis had problems with his Rally Car during competition, costing him gold at Rally Car Racing and a chance to compete in the new event, Super Rally.

• 2011 – Pastrana launches "Pastranathon" which included Best Trick, a race at Lucas Oil Raceway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and then flying back to Staples Center in Los Angeles for RallyCross. However, Pastranathon seemed to be done when, in XGames Best Trick, Travis attempted the Rodeo 720, also known as the TP7, and failed, landing on his right leg. He had broken his foot and ankle, and was taken to a local hospital. Travis was thought to be done, and backed out of the NASCAR race. His team worked diligently to get Travis in the RallyCross event. A special hand-controlled device was made for the steering wheel, and Travis had to relearn to drive the car using the new controls. Travis won a qualifying event, then finished 4th in the final after a crash on the last lap.

Rallying

Pastrana's Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

In 2003, Pastrana opened a rallying career in the Race of Champions, and began driving for the Subaru-backed Vermont SportsCar rally team in 2004. Starting in 2006, Pastrana was signed by Subaru to lead their new Subaru Rally Team USA, being paired once again with veteran co-driver Christian Edstrom. On August 5, 2006 Pastrana won the gold medal in the first rally car competition at the X Games, edging out rally legend Colin McRae by 0.53 seconds after McRae rolled his car through the last jump.

Pastrana and Edstrom clinched the 2006 Rally America National Series overall and open class championship on October 22, 2006 during day one of the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The team finished out the 2006 series with another first-place victory at the Wild West Rally in Olympia, Washington on December 31, 2006.

On December 16, 2006 Pastrana competed at the 2006 Race of Champions at the Stade de France in Paris. He represented the United States in the Nations' Cup by himself, after injuries forced teammate Jimmie Johnson and his replacement Scott Speed to withdraw.

February 19, 2007 brought news that Pastrana's longtime co-driver Edstrom had announced a sabbatical to concentrate on his career and family. Although former McRae co-driver Derek Ringer is set to compete with Pastrana for the 100 Acre Wood Rally in Salem, Missouri and Rally America, he has not announced a permanent replacement co-driver.

Pastrana driving a classic Ford Escort Mk1 at the 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages.

In September 2008, Pastrana took part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally, a round of the Scottish Rally Championship centred in Perth in Scotland. Derek Ringer was his co-driver and they entered in a historic Ford Escort RS1600. He was one of a number of celebrity drivers to take part in the event in memory of McRae, who died in 2007.

On August 29, 2009 Pastrana claimed the overall victory at Ojibwe Forests Rally, his fifth of the 2009 Rally America season. The victory sealed his fourth consecutive Rally America driver's title, the most in series history.

Complete Rally America results

Year	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Drivers Championship	Points
2005	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	Sno*Drift DNP	Oregon Trail 2	Susquehannock Trail 14	Pikes Peak 6	Maine Forest DNF	Ojibwe Forests 3	Colorado Cog DNF	LSPR 2		4th	61
2006	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	Sno*Drift 2	Rally in the 100 Acre Wood DNF	Oregon Trail 2	Susquehannock Trail 2	Maine Forest 2	Ojibwe Forests 1	Colorado Cog 1	LSPR 3	Wild West Rally 1	1st	137
2007	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	Sno*Drift 1	Rally in the 100 Acre Wood 2	Oregon Trail DNF	Olympus Rally DNF	Susquehannock Trail 3	New England Forest Rally 1	Ojibwe Forests 1	Rally Colorado 3	LSPR 1	1st	130
2008	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	Sno*Drift DNF	Rally in the 100 Acre Wood 2	Olympus Rally 2	Oregon Trail 1	Susquehannock Trail DNF	New England Forest Rally 3	Ojibwe Forests 3	Rally Colorado 1	LSPR 3	1st	130
2009	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	Sno*Drift 1	Rally in the 100 Acre Wood DNF	Olympus Rally 1	Oregon Trail 1	Susquehannock Trail 2	New England Forest Rally 1	Ojibwe Forests 1	Rally Colorado DNF	LSPR 1	1st	151
2010	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	Sno*Drift 1	Rally in the 100 Acre Wood DNF	Olympus Rally 1	Oregon Trail DNP	Susquehannock Trail DNP	New England Forest Rally DNP				3rd	45

International competition

Pastrana, Colin McRae and Ken Block at the X Games XIII.

On December 13, 2006, Subaru Rally Team USA announced plans to enter Pastrana in certain World Rally Championship events in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

In the 2007 season, he raced three P-WRC events in the Group N class, driving a Subaru Impreza WRX STI–based rally car. During March 9–11 2007, Pastrana competed in his first world rally at the 21º Corona Rally México. He finished fifth in the P-WRC (Group N) class (the best in-class finish by an American in a WRC event since John Buffum finished third in the Acropolis Rally in 1988), followed by a tenth place in Rally Argentina and an eleventh in Rally GB. Pastrana described his season as having gone "horribly".

Pastrana's 2008 season in the P-WRC was even less successful, with one retirement following a crash on stage one of Rally Argentina and one thirteenth place on the Acropolis Rally.

NASCAR and sports car racing

Pastrana made his debut in NASCAR competition by driving in the 2011 Toyota All-Star Showdown, finishing sixth. Plans to compete in 2011 in the Nationwide Series were cancelled as a result of his injuries at the X-Games in July of that year; currently, he plans to compete in the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race, as well as running a full season in the K&N Pro Series East and selected Nationwide Series races.

Injuries

“I don’t remember most of the injuries, there have been too many.” – Travis Pastrana

Injuries have often taken Travis Pastrana off the circuit for weeks or months at a time. His medical records include: a dislocated spine, he has torn his ACL, PCL, LCL, and MCL in his left knee, his bucket handle meniscus, broken his tibia and fibula, he’s had surgery on his left wrist twice, left thumb once, two surgeries on his back, one on his right elbow, nine on his left knee, six on the right knee, one shoulder surgery which left him with the only piece of metal he has in his body.

When Travis was 14-years-old, he was severely injured while competing in an FMX competition. He came up short landing on the top of the front side of the landing ramp and the motorcycle went from 50 mph (80 km/h) to 0 mph (0 km/h) in less than one second. The bike was stuck into the dirt ramp with the front wheel just over the top and the crank case smashed into the dirt deep enough to support the entire bike upright. Upon impact Travis froze in the upright riding position and his feet went straight out to the sides like he was trying to straddle a bull. As soon as his legs went outward he fell off the motorcycle and his father took off across the dirt course in fear of what everyone just witnessed. He was seriously injured; he separated his spine from his pelvis. It also left him in a wheel chair for three months.

“I was in and out of consciousness for about three days and had six blood transfusions,” says Pastrana. He also adds that according to doctors, only three people in the U.S. have ever lived after such an injury. It was a long and difficult recovery. Pastrana would routinely ride wheelies in his wheel chair, around the hospital and therapy areas. While in the wheel chair recovering he vowed to continue motorcycle jumping. He was also injured in July 2011 while competing at the X Games when his bike did not rotate to the landing position, crushing his ankle and causing a fracture. However, Travis was back in his Subaru Impreza and competing in the Rally Cross final where he overshot the corner, forcing himself into the wall, on board footage shows his leg in plaster being slammed against the wheel well, much to his discomfort. He will need an operation to repair his ankle in the near future.

Other activities

• A documentary story about Travis was filmed by ESPN in 2008, titled 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story
• is featured as a hidden surfer in the 2002 video game Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer.
• Travis lent his voice to the game Colin McRae: DiRT as himself, and the in-menu voice.
• Travis also has part ownership in Ethika, an underwear company specializing in products for athletes.
• Travis features as a driver in Colin McRae: DiRT 2 for Subaru Rally Team USA.

On September 26, 2007, Pastrana jumped out of an airplane over Arecibo, Puerto Rico, without a parachute in a carefully choreographed stunt. He met up in midair with another jumper, then latched himself into a harness to make a safe tandem landing.

On Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 10:00 PM, MTV Nitro Circus, his new television show that he is an executive producer, premiered on MTV. A spinoff of MTV's Jackass, the two shows shared producers, Jeff Tremaine and was partially created by Jackass frontman, Johnny Knoxville. It features Jolene Van Vugt, Erik Roner, Streetbike Tommy, Andy Bell, JD Larson, Jim DeChamp, among others doing dangerous stunts. Jackass' Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius and Steve-O; BMX freestylers, T. J. Lavin and Mat Hoffman; and actor, Gary Coleman have guest starred on various episodes. Nitro Circus was also featured on an episode of MTV's Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and vice-versa.

Travis and the rest of Nitro Circus appeared in the music video for Spaceship by Puddle of Mudd.

On Friday, January 1, 2010, Travis officially set a new world record in a ramp-to-ramp car jump. He jumped his rally car off the Pine Street Pier onto a floating barge anchored in Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor, shattering the existing mark of 171 feet (52 m) and establishing a new world distance record of 269 feet (82 m). To celebrate, after getting out of his car, he performed a gainer from the landing ramp into the harbor below.

In September 2010, Travis set the world record for fastest ascent of Mount Washington in a car, using his Subaru WRX STi: 6min 20.47sec. In June 2011, David Higgins set a new record for ascent of Mt. Washington in a car, at 6:11.54, using the same model vehicle. Travis is featured in "X Games: The Movie"; Travis' work with motocross and rally cars is shown.

Pastrana 199/Nitro Circus Monster Truck

Pastrana' 199 is a monster truck that races on the USHRA circuit. The truck is owned by Live Nation/FELD Motorsports and sponsored by Travis Pastrana. It was originally driven by Paul Cohen, then driven by Chad Tingler, then driven by Courtney Jolly and now driven by Cam McQueen. Travis made his monster truck debut on October 18, 2006 in the Pastrana 199 monster truck at the 2006 Monster Jam. Also, on an episode of Nitro Circus, Travis attempts to backflip the Nitro circus themed monster truck. Though unsuccessful, he walked away without injury. In 2008–2009, the Pastrana 199 truck was driven by Pastrana's good friend Cam McQueen. McQueen was invited to the 2009 World Finals for his second appearance. Pastrana himself competed in the freestyle competition of the event, finishing in a three-way tie for 5th place in a field of 24 trucks. On February 27, 2010 in Jacksonville, FL Cam McQueen nailed successfully a backflip in the Nitro Circus monster truck during the freestyle competition, making Nitro Circus the first to do a backflip in competition.

External links

• Pastrana's official website
• Travis Pastrana Fan Site
• Pastrana at EXPN (X Games) site
• Pastrana at WRC.com
• Nitro Circus
• Pastrana Waltrip Racing
• 199 Lives: The Travis Pastrana Story